A telecom node vendor supplies a telecom node to a service provider who in turn provides telecom services to its customers using the telecom node. The node may be a radio base station, a radio network controller, a network gateway, etc. The node can include configurable hardware components that implements various content delivery features such as VoIP, multimedia (video, audio) content, and connection-oriented cell phone services. The hardware components can also implement data delivery modulation features such as 16QAM, 64QAM, OFDM, QPSK, etc.
The telecom node is supplied to the service provider under a license from the vendor that restricts or prohibits some features that the node can provide and enables other features of the node to be activated for the service provider to use in providing the services to its customers. As an example, the service provider may have paid for the capability to provide only the VoIP and connection-oriented cell phone services using only 16QAM modulation. To enforce the terms of the license, a license manager, i.e., a data processing device and/or software, operates on or within the node to enable/disable the node features consistent with the terms of the license.
The license can be tied to a unique identity of the node which is itself tied to the physical structure of the node. The unique node identity, usually expressed as a number, is sometimes implemented as a read-only value recorded in a programmable read-only memory (PROM) accessible through the back plane of a physical housing, such as a cabinet or a subrack, that physically houses the hardware components of the node. FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a node 100 that includes one or more hardware components 120-1, 120-2, . . . 120-N, a license manager 110, and a PROM 130 all contained within a housing 105. The components 120, the license manager 110, and the PROM 130 are all connected via the backplane of the housing. The unique node identity, which is contained as a read-only value in the PROM 130, is important for enabling/disabling various features under the terms of the license, both on the network level and in the node itself.
If the license is tied to the identity of the node, then the license manager 110 can simply verify the node identity read from the PROM 130 via the backplane and enable all hardware components 120-1, 120-2 . . . 120-N contained within the housing 105 for the service provider to use if the node identity is valid. One disadvantage of this configuration is that co-locating nodes of different systems such GSM/WCDMA/LTE in the same cabinet would not be allowed.
Also, tying the license to the node identity presents an opportunity for license misuse. First, the node identity can be easily spoofed simply by reading the PROM 130 and copying the value to a PROM in another housing structure. Second, if there are extra hardware slots available in the housing 105, other non-authorized hardware components can be added. For example, the service provider may add a component that implements 64QAM modulation to allow for a faster data delivery than 16QAM modulation. Since only the node identity is verified rather than the identities specific to the hardware components of the node 100, the added hardware component can be enabled which violates the terms of the license.
One way to mitigate this type of license misuse is to tie the license to the specifically licensed configuration of the node including the housing 105 and the individual hardware components 120-1, 120-2 . . . 20-N. In FIG. 1, each hardware components 120 has a unique individual hardware ID HWID-1, HWID-2 . . . HWID-N which is set when the hardware component is manufactured. One example is a serial number assigned to the component. The component's HWID can be accessed, for example, through a query received through the backplane of the housing 105 by the license manager 110. If the license is tied to the specifically licensed configuration of the node 100, then when a new component is added to the available slot of the housing 105, the license manager 110 will detect the mismatch and disable the new component from being used by the service provider or disable the node 100 altogether.
However, a strict application of tying the node configuration to the license presents problems. There are occasions where new components being incorporated into the node are legitimate. It is not unusual for a hardware component to fail which must be replaced with a new component with the same or similar capabilities and features. For example, the component 120-1 which provides VoIP communication capabilities may fail, in which case, a new component to provide the same VoIP services to the end user customers will be needed. Another legitimate circumstance is when the vendor provides upgrades to the node that fixes or other wise addresses problematic issues that are present with the existing node configuration. The upgrades may be in the form of a replacement and/or an additional hardware component. Since the new component has a different HWID, the license manager will detect the mismatch and disable the new component or the entire node in both legitimate circumstances, and the license needs to be “reset”.
The license reset process is inconvenient and/or expensive to the service provider, the end user, and to the vendor. When the license is reset, the revenue stream from providing the services to the end users is interrupted which is costly to the service provider. The end users are inconvenienced due to the service disruption. Finally, the vendor is inconvenienced since it must provide the necessary services, such as sending a technician to the service provider's site, to reset the license which is both resource and time consuming.
In addition, tying the license to the configuration of the node including the identity of the physical housing and the components presents problems. In LTE for example, components of the node are allowed to span multiple physical housings such as subracks and cabinets. In this instance, the license that is tied to the housing and the components physically contained in the housing will be incomplete if some of the components are physically separate from the housing since not all components will be accounted for in the license. This again presents opportunities for license misuse.
It is desirable to use a unique identity for a node for license management purposes that is tied to the configuration of the node's hardware components so that license misuse can be prevented. It is also desirable to allow the minor configuration changes to the node so that expensive, cumbersome, and time consuming process of resetting the node license can be avoided.